Illegal immigrant with ties to Nicaraguan massacre and Mexican drug cartel remains in custody, ICE reports

 


BALTIMORE — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested J. Zeledón R., 56, an undocumented immigrant and Nicaraguan citizen, in Hyattsville on March 6 after he admitted during immigration proceedings to having massacred approximately 20 people in the 1990s while serving in the Nicaraguan military.

“This arrest underscores the importance of ICE to the security of our nation,” said Matthew Elliston, acting director of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Field Office in Baltimore. “During the process, this individual admitted to his horrific past: massacring innocent people and subsequently collaborating with a ruthless drug cartel in Mexico. His presence in the United States posed a direct threat to public safety, and thanks to the diligent work of our officers, he will no longer be able to hide in our communities.” ICE remains committed to identifying, arresting, and deporting dangerous criminals who have no place in our neighborhoods.” U.S. Customs and Border Protection arrested Zeledón at the Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville, Texas, on March 29, 2023, and issued him a summons to appear.

Zeledon attended a hearing before an immigration judge at the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review on March 5. During the hearing, Zeledon openly admitted to serving in the Nicaraguan military from 1995 to 1996 and firing an AK-47 into a crowd of civilians, killing approximately 20 people. Zeledon also admitted to moving to Mexico and providing material support to a cartel. The immigration judge ordered him deported from the United States to Nicaragua.

Zeledon remains in ICE custody awaiting deportation.

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